I'd like to many sequels but for $100?
Only a few then...
º Mass Effect
Exclusively and specifically a sequel to the original by Drew Karphyshyn. I do specify a sequel to the original, not a sequel to ME2, which by itself can already be considered alternative universe material, since primarily written by a new writer with only some guidance by Drew. I'd love to pay to know what would have happened, what would Drew, the original author, would think should happen after the Battle of the Citadel and Sovereign's failed attempt at activating it.
We'd see a Mass Effect continuity without Collectors, probably no Shepard death two months later (ME2's beginning) and most likely no Lazarus Project nor any beyond-plausible involvement of Cerberus (such as them somehow growing enough to be present literally everywhere and even powerful enough to actually attack the Citadel), with Shepard staying with and remaining loyal to the Systems Alliance until the Reapers come, and beyond. I would pay for a new trilogy (and yeah that would be $100 each), basically, which is what it'd take. Although of course the original could be kept intact, but I have to admit that the combat system in ME3 should be used in such a new trilogy, a re-telling or if you prefer a reboot of the franchise, driven exclusively by Drew and no one else.
It will never happen, but if I was Drew I would resume where "I" left off the story in the form of literature, as novels to provide a "real canon" view on the continuity. The goal wouldn't be to see if Drew's own story would be worse or better than Mac Walter's and Casey Hudson's (although of course human nature oblige, inevitable comparisons would be made and hasty conclusions jump onto, "see told you Mac Walters suck at writing stuff!"), the goal would - objectively - merely consist of having an option for fans and readers alike. To simply have the option and the opportunity to see different views on the story progression, one that we know of by now which was started by Drew and resumed by Mac, and one exclusively continued by Drew until its conclusion. In the same way that we've seen so many takes on specific known stories out there such as the Batman trilogy or Spiderman, Superman and many others (reboots, etc).
º Dragon Age: Origins / Awakening
We know that DA2 is its own self-contained story set within the settings and universe of the original, but has very little to do with the events (and characters as well) that unfolded in Origins and Awakening. We could argue that "technically" Awakening was the sequel to Origins but with short-lasting content labeled as an expansion pack, which it really was (content-wise). But the principle of a sequel was there. We wanted to know what the Warden would do following the Battle of Denerim? Well, Awakening provided just that, to some extent.
The DLCs were fillers, one of which was a self-contained prequel for one character (Leliana), and another which completely failed to provide clear closure (Morrigan), even though it "attempted" to do so but left us with nothing else but our own interpretations. We can also argue that Morrigan herself isn't "important enough" to justify a full fledged sequel to Origins or Awakening, or it's the other way around and she's important enough for that. Ideally of course a "real sequel" to Origins would have brought most of the original cast back to continue the story but... to where? To another Dark Spawn invasion? That would have been too easy and redundant. They (writers) would have had to come up with a new form of threat big enough to still have that "something epic is going to happen" feeling, while keeping the link with Origins, whilst not attempting to merely repeat its story again in the name of a sequel... not exactly something easy to do.
My problem though isn't exactly that I'm not sure if a true sequel to Origins can even exist story-wise, since I do believe that Awakening did provide most of the necessary closure (not all though). My problem really is DA2 (again, story-wise mostly, but also game-play wise). It has so little to do with what occurred in the original that even if it was set "within" Origin's established canon and universe it still did not feel right, it felt way too different and so restrained. Not just because set mostly within just Kirkwall for almost the whole game's duration but beyond that, which is exactly my point, was lacking. There's no "beyond" Kirkwall sense anymore, sure we see some backgrounds when walking along the narrow paths outdoor and think "ok so there's more to see in this land than a city, good", but cleary there was no effective and satisfying exploration nor of course any actual maps for that purpose, it was too simply objectives-driven, go there, do that and don't bother to veer left or right in between to explore some random cave because there's none to explore anyway... which is what I'm referring to.
I just have the feeling that DA2 was some sort of a failed experiment ("failed" by now, that is, since of course I think that BioWare did genuinely thought that it would truly work) for the story and that BioWare realized it, and will "properly" resume from where Awakening left off with Dragon Age 3. I can only hope so although I'm pretty sure that Hawk will be the protagonist, and I guess that would be fine, but we MUST have "a Warden" somewhere in the party, that would be a necessity, in my opinion. I think that's why DA2 felt so separate from Origins, due to the near-insulting absence (oh, wait, ok until almost the very end for something like a minute-long scene) of "a Warden" to play with or as. To carry on from Origins I do think that DA2 should have had that element of "Wardens are still important", but instead we were thrown into some sort of a localized (which probably will become a problem spread onto the continent by DA3's time line) conflict between Mages and Templars, and just because those were "present" in Origins means that we should have automatically felt that DA2 was indeed a "sequel" to Origins? Nah, didn't work that way for me. I know it's probably not the best analogy but to me having no Wardens to play as (specifically to play as, not just present in the party) made me feel like Star Wars never had a sequel, but that a sequel to it would have removed the Jedi (or the Force) and only mentioned it very late at some point for around a minute.
Now, see, what did they do with Legacy, DA2's actual worthy DLC? Well they basically gave us back some Warden material to chew on, which is my point, I think BioWare got it at that point and will continue on that path with DA3. So yeah anyway, I'm waiting for DA3 for the mere reason that I feel that BioWare did get the message from the community after DA2, and will attempt at resuming "properly", which might make DA3 a "true" or rather "more appropriate" sequel to Origins, probably what DA2 "should have been". Now of course DA3's title will remain as such, but similarly to the potential importance that ME3 had on the Mass Effect trilogy and its universe I think that DA3 can be (and should be) a redemption for those whom like me felt very disappointed by DA2. They like me are waiting for DA3 because they think that maybe "that one" will set things right, and after ME3's "fiasco" it's difficult to believe that it will happen although it's supposedly a different team working on it (which I do believe), so time will tell.
But, basically I included this one in the list (I.E. my wish to have a "proper" sequel to Awakening, or Origins anyway) because deep inside me I just know that despite even the most honest attempts from BioWare to "do it right" it just won't happen and at the very best it'll just be perhaps "better than" DA2 game-play wise, but won't be satisfying story-wise and characters-wise.
Again, time will tell... but, heck, yeah I'd pay $100 for that.
º Half-Life 3
To be honest, I don't care about the series as much as I used to, it's been so long since Episode Two (five years or so by now). I know that if Valve ever decides to work on it, or if they are then whenever they decide to announce it... I just know that I'll probably need new pants since when Valve announces something new they usually come up with something along the lines of a quantum leap with a loud industry-wide bang that has repercussions. Well I'm only referring to one example from them that I think of, that is the leap we saw in technology and complexity from Half-Life 1 to Half-Life 2. That was them and no one else. From the original (exceptional back then of course, already a quantum leap in FPS shooters at the very least if not for most of video gaming by itself at the time) 1998 release to a completely new engine, facial expressions, animations quality, physics, music, map design, story, character development, etc. It was all there, H-L2 - on paper - was about as much of a technical accomplishment for the FPS genera back in 2004 as H-L1 was.
I have a strong feeling (more like a wish by now) that Half-Life 3 will be the next leap, that H-L3 will be to H-L2 what itself was to the original, providing a completely new Valve-made engine which will then be used for future titles following H-L3, and not just by Valve but for the whole industry to tempter with. And in retrospect I think that I'd be more excited about that aspect (new engine, etc) coming from and offered by and within H-L3 than by the actual game itself or whatever story continuation would be in it. At this point in time as I said I don't care much about the actual story itself anymore, not that I "hate it", not at all... I just... I don't know. You'd mention Half-Life's story specifically and I can only shrug to it only to lose attention five seconds later. It was fun back then, it was alright in 2004, it then got its due boosts with Episode One and Two and then... silence... by now in 2012 I'm sorry but the gauge is back to zero.
Despite my lack of interest for the story of the Half-Life series, I think I'd still pay $100 for Half-Life 3 since somehow I think that if it ever comes out then it's going to blow the industry right out of its boots with a Valve-signed dragon punch H-L2 style with a brand new technological scent to it that very few around will be able to resist.
---
That's about it... that is that's about it as far as paying $100 for such a sequel is concerned, otherwise I'd have a dozen more to list. I'm just not ready to pay that much money for video games anymore, most of the time.
Facebook
Twitter